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SAN ANTONIO — Give Texas Sen. John Cornyn and Rep. Henry Cuellar credit for grappling, in a proposed bill, with the emergency presented by unaccompanied Central American children flocking to our border.

The numbers — a projected 90,000 by the end of the year — demand action.

And there is much to recommend a bipartisan approach. Cornyn is a Republican, and Cuellar is a Democrat.

But urgency should be tempered by the dire circumstances from which these youths are fleeing.

The primary feeder countries in Central America are Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala. Death, beatings and rape are common occurrences whether or not you're a member of these countries' rampant gangs.

Reporting by Aaron Nelsen of the Express-News on this has made for gritty but compelling reading.

Our fear is that efforts — even well-intentioned ones — give too short shrift to this danger.

The two Texas members of Congress are clear; they would mimic how authorities treat unaccompanied minors from Mexico. But it is not clear that this process is entirely fair to Mexican children.

Cuellar says his bill merely asks whether these Central American children want to opt for voluntary departure and then expedites their hearings if they make a claim to stay.

The hearings would occur within seven days, though he is open to a longer period.

One problem is with the Border Patrol's screening that now occurs for unaccompanied Mexican children. This process is credibly described as cursory, with the majority of immigrants never getting past it even if they have credible claims. And children, in this bill, would stay in detention while awaiting a hearing.

Speed is not as important here as getting this right. The danger is real for many of these children in their own countries. All proposals on this should be examined in this light.

We are not convinced that this 2008 law that treats these Central American youths as potential refugees should be repealed or changed.

Cuellar told the Express-News Editorial Board that, with only a few workdays of the congressional session remaining before the annual August break, at best, parts of the proposal likely will get wrapped into appropriations legislation that deals with the president's request for emergency funding. News reports suggest a September showdown between the House and the Senate is more likely.

Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller issued a statement on amendments to the 2008 law that would serve as an excellent policy guide, calling for only action that “would truly ensure due process, justice and humane treatment of these children.”